On Tuesday, November 6, 2012, we crossed the threshold spoken of more than 200 years ago:

"A democracy is always temporary in nature. It simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.  A democracy will continue to exist until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years."

Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian 1805 - 1859

"From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to courage; From courage to liberty, From liberty to abundance; From abundance to complacency; From complacency to apathy; From Apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage."

Alexander Tyler on the cycle of self rule, 1747 -1813

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work instead of living on public assistance."

Cicero, 55 BC